Police in Everett, Washington are hoping that the public can help them track down a man who paid at a lemonade stand with a counterfeit $100 bill. Thankfully, the internet has rallied around the 11-year-old who got scammed.
The young boy named Jeremy is an entrepreneur, running multiple businesses. One of them was a lemonade and snack stand where a man bought $20 worth of snacks and drink.
He asked Jeremy to break the $100 bill for the purchase.
Jeremy used all the money he had that day to provide change for the purchase. The man, having his snacks, drinks, and change left.
After the interaction, Jeremy inspected the bill and noticed it looked funny. He took it to a nearby gas station to have it confirmed, but the employee said what Jeremy already expected.
The bill was a forgery.
The gas station attendant called the police and reported everything that happened.
Despite losing most of his money, Jeremy hasn’t let it slow him down. He was back out selling at his wares the next day.
After hearing about what happened to the now 12-year-old, a neighbor worked to help out Jeremy. Amy Steenfott started a GoFundMe to raise $250 for the boy.
She hoped to get enough to replace the money Jeremy lost, as well as some extra for the young business owner to expand his enterprise. As of the time of writing, the fund has raised over $25,000 dollars.
An impressive change of fate for the young boy.
Jeremy said he’d been using his profits to both expand his business and donate money to Ukraine. Hopefully the funds from the GoFundMe help in that endeavor.
In the meantime, Everett Police are looking for information about the alleged thief. They are investigating tips and looking for anyone who recognizes the man.
